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TESTIMONY OF MATT BLACK, MISSIONARY TO SPAIN
No other ministry experience has changed my life more than my opportunity to work for CEF OF EASTERN PA, INC. in the city of Philadelphia. I am currently a Christian missionary in the Basque Region of Spain, but my burden for this country began in the city of Philadelphia. I realized that the mission fields of the world had come to us there! I have learned many lessons from my time in Philadelphia.
First, I learned how to preach the Gospel. CEF OF E PA helped me to understand the simple plan of salvation. I learned that the most scholarly endeavor in presenting the Word of God is to make things profoundly simple. I learned that I must not just preach the Gospel, but I must "draw the net" as Jesus taught when we "fish for men." During my evangelism training in Summer Missionary Training School, I led my first person to Christ, little William Avery, age 9, there on the streets of Harrisburg on Market Street after learning how to "draw the net" of souls to Christ at CEF OF EASTERN PA.
As I learned how to preach, I was taught how to weave the Gospel into every message. I learned how the Gospel is on every page of Scripture. This affects my preaching to this day. Now those I preach to can ponder on the message of the Gospel while I preach, and God's Holy Spirit can work all the more. Whatever subject I attempt, Jesus and Him crucified is ever present! But I always add that "Jesus did not stay dead--He came alive again!!" I learned that the doctrine of the Resurrection is so foundational and vital, but so often left out. I can never preach the Gospel without preaching with passion: "Jesus lives!"
I also learned that the greatest preachers in the world aim for the children. Dr. Mable Ruth Wray always said that if I was to be blessed of God and succeed in the ministry, I must put priority on preaching the Gospel to children. She gave me a book once demonstrating this, authored by the Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, called "Feed my Lambs." I have been greatly influenced by this book. And probably most importantly of all, I was shown how that the Greatest Preacher of all, our precious Lord, said in Matthew 19:14, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." I was pointed to the fact that Jesus called the children first and foremost, and used the genuine faith of a little child when He said, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4).
I learned that the greatest preparation for ministry for that day is to read through the Word of God. I learned the importance of seeking after God and yielding to Him minute by minute. I remember asking Dr. Wray one day what was the greatest advice she could give a young man entering the ministry. She told me: "Meet with God EVERY day!" What a difference that has made in my life. She also showed me the value of pondering on each word in Scripture and finding what that great man of God, Dr. Kenneth Wuest of the Moody Bible Institute, called "golden nuggets."
My time at CEF OF EASTERN PA even taught me some of the more practical things in life. I learned to hold a standard of excellence in all that I do--from the way I dress, to the way I talk, to keep every one of my commitments for the glory of God. Everything done at CEF OF E PA has had that stamp of excellence in Christ. I saw it in the materials and lessons prepared and produced--I saw it in the amazing organization of the State Office and the standard given to all the counties, and I saw it in the rigorous training I received with CHILD EVANGELISM FELLOWSHIP OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
Now, as I tell men, women, boys, and girls about Jesus here in the country of Spain, I can never be more grateful for the training I received with CEF OF E PA, Inc, and the opportunity I had to work in the great city of Philadelphia. My whole ministry is affected by what I have learned, and I can only say "Thank you!" May many children be reached in Pennsylvania and around the world through CEF OF E PA.
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